Gacha Leveling

Chapter 194 - 55 – The Harp of Dagda 3

Matthew drew a circle with chalk in the parking lot in front of the hotel they were staying in while Claudio drew the runes to summon an air spirit."A Cait Sith?" Claudio asked while analyzing his own work.

"Yes. They are tricksters, but they have reverence to nobility." Matthew explained. "It seems our best bet to learn anything about Dagda."

Vanessa and Paula parked near the circle after going to the market. They brought milk, snacks, dice, cards and other games.

Michael and Tylith stayed in the hotel.

"What is your Charisma?" Claudio asked Matthew.

"60. But you know that." Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I didn’t want to sound weird." Claudio smiled.

"As if you could." Paula stabbed at him.

"Are you planning to play with it?" Vanessa asked Matthew after placing the groceries on Paula’s car.

"They like playing tricks. But they also love games. If it doesn’t want to share information willingly, we can try befriending him, perhaps?" Matthew pondered.

"Why don’t we just use Paula’s Charm Spirit or your Entice skill on it?" Claudio shook his head.

"I could only cast Entice on demons, humans and elves. When I tried with a dragon, it didn’t work. Cait Siths are intelligent, but they are cats. I don’t know if it would work on them." Matthew said.

"That’s interesting." Claudio took out his notepad to write something down. "It doesn’t rule out your Witchcraft and Paula’s Charm Spirit, though." He added.

"Let’s first try not being violent." Paula crossed her arms and leaned against her car. "A lot of things can go wrong when dealing with spirits. It’s best to be friends with them rather than forcing them to your will." She, who had dealt with spirits since she was a child, spoke from experience.

"Alright. Do it your way." Claudio dropped the subject.

"Is it done?" Vanessa asked upon seeing Matthew getting up from the floor and examining the circle.

"It is." He said. "Let’s start."

Matthew thought how inconvenient it was to have to walk over all of the circle because he didn’t have the Project Mana skill. He then sat in the middle and started to flow his mana into the Mag Argtnél.

"Does this take long?" Paula asked.

"It does." Matthew said with his eyes closed and concentrating on the spell.

Vanessa then opened a bag of chips and started to eat them sitting on the hood of Paula’s car.

Claudio stepped away to talk on the phone with someone.

Paula just watched Matthew the whole time.

After an hour, they all heard a deep male voice saying:

"You are really bold trying to summon me with that yucky mana."

They looked around trying to find the source of the voice, but not even Paula could see it.

"But you got me curious. There are few humans who ever try to summon one of us." The voice said.

Suddenly a big black cat appeared on Matthew’s shoulders walking over them elegantly. It had bright green eyes and a big white spot in the middle of its chest.

"I’m here human. What do you want?" It said with the same voice.

Claudio was still far away, talking on his phone. He spent the whole hour either talking to someone or writing texts on the device. It didn’t need to be said, the three of them agreed that it was best if he wasn’t a part of the conversation.

"We just want some information." Paula, used to dealing with spirits, said first.

The cat seemed to smile as it jumped from Matthew’s shoulders to the floor and looked into Paula’s eyes.

"You can see us." The cat said.

"Ever since I was a child." Paula nodded.

"I like you. Why weren’t you the one summoning me, but the dead boy there?" The cat said, rubbing itself on her legs.

"I don’t have the skill to summon spirits." Paula explained.

"That’s odd." The cat said and jumped on her bosom to look into her eyes up close. "People like you usually develop that skill early on."

"I never did." Paula smiled while petting the cat.

"What did you mean, dead boy?" Vanessa asked, interrupting their conversation.

"That he reeks of death." The car shuddered. "His mana is not all that bad, but his body is yuck!"

Vanessa then looked at Matthew with a concerned look, but didn’t say anything else.

"We need to know more about the Harp of Dagda." Matthew said, getting up from the floor.

"Oh the Harp you say..." The cat had a mischievous tone while laying around Paula’s neck like a shawl.

"Could you?" Paula asked, offering him a saucer of milk.

The cat hesitated for a moment, looking away.

"Why do you want to know?" It asked.

"A cult worshiping the demon king Paimon wants to use it to bring their master to Earth." Vanessa answered.

"Use the Harp?" The Cait Sith bared its fangs.

"One of them told us. Now we’re trying to find the harp before them." Matthew explained.

"And you? What would you do with the Harp?" It asked, looking menacingly at Matthew.

"I don’t know. I would use it to help others, I guess?" Matthew pondered.

"Use the Harp?!" The Cait Sith hissed and jumped on the floor on his hind legs and crossed his front paws over its chest. "I won’t tell you anything!"

"What if we promise to not use the harp?" Paula knelt and patted its head.

"Can you promise to keep him safe? To never use him?" The cat asked, looking at her.

"I promise you, we won’t use or let anyone else use it." Paula said softly.

"Alright then. If there are people trying to use the Harp, I can’t stand idle." The Cait Sith said, placing its paws on its hips. "I, the great Cathbad, will help you against these Paimon worshipers."

"Do you know about the harp?" Vanessa asked.

"Know? I was one of his carriers!" Cathbad tapped its chest proudly.

"Then you know where it is?" Matthew asked.

"Of course! You just need to take me to the graveyard." The cat said.

At this moment, Claudio approached them and Cathbad frowned at him.

"I see you have already made friends with the spirit." He said.

"Who is this man?" Cathbad asked suspiciously.

"He’s an unwanted helper." Paula said. "But we need to bring him with us."

"And he won’t break your promise?" Cathbad asked, still suspicious of him.

"I’ll make sure he will." Matthew said.

"I’ll trust you." The cat said to Paula.

"Please."

Claudio just fidgeted with his glasses and kept silent. He was smart enough not to ruin the trust they’ve built with the spirit.

"Kitty!" Suddenly Ffyr dropped from the sky at full speed and hugged Cathbad with her full strength.

The Cait Sith screamed as it rolled on the ground with the fairy.

"Help! I’m under attack!" It screamed as Ffyr sank her face in its fur.

"Kitty kitty kitty!" Ffyr kept patting him.

"Ffyr. That’s not a cat. That’s a spirit." Matthew said to her.

"I’m a Cait Sith you overgrown fairy!" Cathbad protested trying to get away from her.

"But he’s so fluffy!" Ffyr pouted at Matthew.

"Let him go." Paula asked Ffyr, holding her laughter.

"Alright..." Ffyr pouted and let the spirit go.

"Can’t believe I’m dealing with a Fae again." Cathbad said as he sat on the floor and groomed his fur with his tongue. "What a group you have. A dead boy, a spirit watcher, a Fae, a creepy man and a scary woman."

"Matthew, Paula, Ffyr, Claudio and Vanessa." Paula said in the same order the Cait Sith enumerated them.

"Did it tell us something useful?" Claudio asked them impatiently.

"He knows where the harp is." Matthew said.

"You’re either very lucky or the location is widely known by the air spirits." Claudio smiled and cleaned his glasses with a tissue.

"It doesn’t matter. We should get Michael and Tylith and then head to the dungeon." Matthew said.

"And keep those Fae creepy fingers away from me!" Cathbad added hissing at Ffyr and hiding behind Paula.

When Tylith and Michael came down from their rooms, the Caith Sith immediately hissed at the demoness.

"You have a Fomorian with you!" He accused them.

"Fomorian?" Matthew pondered. "You mean the Fomorians are demons?"

"Of course they are!" Cathbad said with his fangs bared to the succubus.

"I’m not your enemy, little kitty." Tylith said, kneeling in front of the cat and caressing its chin. "I’m not with the other demons."

Cathbad purred, closing his eyes with the caress, but then jumped back and hissed again.

"You will not put a spell on me!"

"She’s alright. She fled the hells. She’s not one of them anymore." Paula said, picking up the cat from the floor. "You can trust her."

"Okay..." Cathbad ceded. "You have a strange group, having a Fomorian traitor shouldn’t surprise me..."

"We should get going." Claudio hurried them, already inside his car.

"I hate to agree with him." Vanessa said, opening the door for Matthew’s car.

"Alright, humans." Cathbad jumped inside Paula’s car. "Take me to the graveyard and I’ll show you the formidable place of rest of the Harp!" He said with pride.

They all drove to Dagda’s Logh, not knowing what was waiting for them.